“Thomas Tull and his team did an incredible job, and have delivered a new franchise.”

According to insiders, work on the follow-up film is already underway.

It is not known as yet whether Edwards will return to the helm, but given his movie’s success you wouldn’t bet against it.

The British director, who wowed critics with his inventive, low-budget creature feature Monsters back in 2010, united a heavyweight cast including Bryan Cranston, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche and David Strathairn for the new outing.